EghtesadOnline: A joint conference between the cooperative chambers of Iran and South Korea was held in Tehran on Monday with the aim of fostering educational ties and boosting trade.

The event was held at the IRIB Conference Center and was attended among others by the head of Iran Cooperatives Chamber, Bahman Abdollahi, South Korean Ambassador to Iran Ryu Jeong-Hyun and a host of economists and people active in the cooperative sector.

During the conference, the first session of a series of envisioned educational courses was held in cooperation with ICC and the South Korean embassy.

"ICC has always been one of the main channels of developing and expanding economic activities," Abdollahi said, adding that the courses are in line with the chamber's legally mandated mission of improving the scientific level of the cooperatives sector, Financial Tribune reported.

"People active in the cooperatives sector are soldiers of the economic war who bear a heavy responsibility in accessing target markets and increasing foreign currency generation for the country," Abdollahi said in reference to unilateral US sanctions imposed against Iran that threaten to decrease oil and other revenues.

The official pointed out that since Iran-South Korea trade balance favors the latter, the Islamic Republic should increasingly focus on exports and expand target markets.

"We are not behind the world in terms of products we create, but one of our weaknesses in international trade is reaching target markets, so we must cover these gaps through educational method and employing electronic trade," he said.

The South Korean ambassador expressed hope that the two countries will have better economic ties in the future in addition to the educational courses.

"We have had close cooperation with Iran and the people and government of South Korea look at Iran as an old friend, so we expect to have closer cooperation in various fields," Jeong-Hyun said.

He pointed out that in recent years, South Korea and Iran have held tens of joint educational workshops, saying the new round of workshops and educational courses will create a new chapter in bilateral ties.

Last month, the Center of Statistics at Iran's Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare published a report detailing the state of the country's cooperatives sector.

According to the report, more than 92,000 cooperatives were active across Iran by the end of the fifth month of the current fiscal year on Aug. 22, supporting more than 1.7 million jobs. Tehran had 10,525 cooperatives that generated 511,298 jobs.